Two brothers who ran a major drugs empire in Coventry at the barrel of a gun have each been jailed for 14 years.

A jury at Birmingham Crown Court found Ian, 21, and Scott Breen, 27, guilty of a string of firearms offences, after guns they owned were used to riddle a house in Bell Green with bullets.

After a jury reached an unanimous verdict yesterday, the court heard how police, who had the brothers under surveillance for months, caught them with Class A and B drugs with an estimated street value of £166,729.

Brian Dean, prosecuting, said that surveillance continued into September, when armed officers swooped on them.

Sentencing the Breens, of Far Gosford Street, city centre, Judge Estelle Hindley QC said: "You controlled a drug empire by the use of firearms.

"Drugs and firearms result in an escalating spiral of violence.

"These sort of crimes are worryingly prevalent in the West Midlands and cannot be tolerated."

After the men had been found guilty of six firearms offences, including possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, Mr Dean said the brothers had already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, and a string of other related offences.

These included posession with intent to supply large quantities of heroin, crack cocaine, cannabis and ecstasy. Mr Dean said: "They were leading wholesalers and distributors of drugs who controlled their Coventry empire with firearms."

The court heard how last December police swooped on the brothers as they left Upper Spon Street in a silver BMW, and then uncovered a huge stash of drugs kept at a nearby house, and their home.

Earlier, the court heard the Breens claim that they had no idea how the weapons - including a Luger 9mm used in a shooting in Elkington Road in which no-one was injured - had ended up in their garage, on Humber Avenue.

They said they had given sets of garage keys to acquaintances, but they were afraid to give their details to the court because they thought they would be shot.

After the trial, police said they were delighted that one of the city's biggest drug rings had been smashed.

Det Insp Pete Lewis said: "It's a fact that drugs and guns cause misery to the people in Coventry and the West Midlands.

"The sentence given to these major drug dealers reflects the seriousness in which drug dealing and firearm offences is taken.

"The police totally support the result of the case and we hope the severity of the sentence is heeded as a powerful warning to drug dealers throughout this city."